[cyclopean]

Am I missing something, or are 5th edition watcher spirits only available through the ritual on 298 of the core book? So you don't really summon so much as create them, and they seem to have gotten a bit better stats-wise, but they are a bit harder to get (as you need the ritual instead of just the general summoning skill). Thanks!

[Herr Brackhaus]

You are not missing anything as far as I can tell. Creating/summoning Watchers is indeed ritual magic in SR5.

[jim1701]

Watchers are now considered to be a construct created from the mage's mind rather than a genuine spirit.  Hence the reason for the change. 

[cyclopean]

Yeah, I like the new flavor for that a lot. It makes them feel quite a bit cooler than just these dinky little dudes you could get before. Plus the variable force makes them a lot more valuable. I just had a player try to summon one for the first time this edition and was like "uh.... hold on". Thanks for the replies!

[DigitalZombie]

Another cool benefit is that aspected sorcerors actually now can "summon" spirits

(but dont tell that to the aspected summoners, as they cant create watchers no more)

[Medicineman]

Watchers are now considered to be a construct created from the mage's mind rather than a genuine spirit.  Hence the reason for the change.

....?
Watcher have been a Construct of the Mage since at least 3rd Edition.(They've never been viewed as a Spirit)
That is nothing especially new from 5th Edition

with a Dance for a long time now
Medicineman

[jim1701]

Watchers are now considered to be a construct created from the mage's mind rather than a genuine spirit.  Hence the reason for the change.

....?
Watcher have been a Construct of the Mage since at least 3rd Edition.(They've never been viewed as a Spirit)
That is nothing especially new from 5th Edition

with a Dance for a long time now
Medicineman

Really?

A watcher is a simple type of servant spirit. Some experts consider watchers to be a tangible expression of the magician’s own consciousness, molded from the fabric of astral space, while others consider them the bottomfeeders of the spirit world.

Seems to me that watchers were considered spirits in 4th though the jury was still out on their true nature.  However, in 5th edition

Watchers are like spirits, but in actuality are entities born from the ritual leader’s own mind rather than the metaplanes.

the verdict is in.  Until the next edition, anyway.

[Medicineman]

 

Really?

Yeah, really ,well at least for Me(!) .... .

Some experts consider watchers to be a tangible expression of the magician’s own consciousness, molded from the fabric of astral space,

See
I'm one of these experts 

with an expert Dance
Medicineman

[Shinobi Killfist]

And like spirits the limit to how many you can have is still tied to charisma, despite it firmly being a mental construct now instead of a pseudo spirit. Charisma, the  one true stat for spell casters

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

... it's always been a 'mental construct', and it's always been a pseudo-spirit, and it's always been formed directly from astral energies, and it's never been a metaplanar summoning (which is essentially what defines a true spirit, though a shaman and a miko might argue with you there) and it's always been linked to Charisma, but this is the first time that something besides Conjuring has been used to summon/create it.

It remains stupider than a standard spirit of its Force, and for all intents and purposes I will still tend to think of it as the classic (1E) watcher spirit.  "Hey there, welcome to Hannibal's Grill, I hear the ratburgers are really tasty today.  Hiya, welcome to Hannibal's Grill.  Got your DocWagon card paid up?"

[Spooky]

Ah yes, the annoyer spirit, watcher style. That takes me back.....